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Math has never been my strong suit, but there is one logic progression that has been spouted so often by so many people in soccer that it has become hard not to believe. A universal theory about American men’s soccer, such as it is, goes something like this:

The greater the number of Americans playing for European club teams, the greater the chances of success for the United States national team. The supposed corollary to that statement is, the greater the number of Americans playing in Major League Soccer, the lower the chances for the national team.

This line of thinking is not complex: One could make the same statement about, say, Italian players in the N.B.A. as opposed to Italy’s professional league. Clearly, it is better to play for the Milwaukee Bucks than for Granarolo Bologna. Ultimately, playing against the best competition on a consistent basis seems to be the best way for a given player to become better. In soccer, the European leagues are of higher quality than M.L.S. — it has been that way for a long time and it remains so.

But what, then, to make of the coming M.L.S. season? The league begins its 19th year Saturday. It has spent the past few weeks on a public-relations tour, sending top players to meet with reporters and spread the gospel about its increasing quality. The most interesting thing about these trips is not what is being said — athlete-speak is athlete-speak — but the number of star players M.L.S. was able to turn out to say it.

There was a time when the league might be able to trot out Landon Donovan and ... Landon Donovan. Yes, sure, there have always been aging international stars in M.L.S., but what the league is able to offer now is far different from long-ago players like Jorge Campos (the jerseys!) or Carlos Valderrama (the hair!) or even recent imported stars like David Beckham (the stubble!).

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Clint Dempsey is expected to play in the Seattle Sounders' season opener Saturday against Sporting Kansas City.CreditTed S. Warren/Associated Press

In the buildup to this season, M.L.S. has turned to Donovan, of course, but he is no longer alone. Real stars, squarely in their prime, are sharing the stage, including the Americans Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley.

These are players who will be cornerstones for the United States team in Brazil in June, yet they opted to play their final club games before the World Cup begins in places like Kansas City, Kan., and San Jose instead of Manchester and Milan.

By the accepted logic, that choice would seem disastrous for the national team. Dempsey was playing with Tottenham in England and Bradley with Roma in Italy. There had been hope that Donovan would at least get a loan spell abroad to sharpen his game before the season, but it did not happen. As it stands, the only players based in Europe who are almost certain to start for the United States in Brazil are goalkeeper Tim Howard, defender Geoff Cameron, midfielder Jermaine Jones and forward Jozy Altidore.

It is easy to paint that reality as a step backward for the national team, even as it is a clear step forward for M.L.S. Bradley ($6.5 million per season) and Dempsey (about $5 million) both got paid, sure, but at what price to our country’s valiant sporting hopes? Cynics will say a lack of quality in the run-up to Brazil is likely to translate into a lack of preparedness for the rigors of the world’s top teams once the big tournament begins. How can you be ready for Cristiano Ronaldo by playing Graham Zusi?

And yet I’m not so sure anymore. First, the quality of M.L.S. has changed. As Bradley said, it is not just American players who have chosen the league; in this transfer period alone, he was joined in Toronto by the English striker Jermain Defoe and Brazil’s No. 1 goalkeeper, Júlio César.

“We have three players who, in January of a World Cup year, have chosen Major League Soccer,” Bradley said of Toronto’s additions. “And so you can talk about Americans and how much we believe in this league, but players from other countries are seeing the same thing. I think that’s a great sign.”

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United States teammates Clint Dempsey, left, and Michael Bradley are preparing for the World Cup by playing for Major League Soccer teams.CreditJack Dempsey/Associated Press

Howard, who played Major League Soccer early in his career but has spent the past nine years with Everton in England, said that he was not altogether surprised by Dempsey’s departure from the continent and that he always felt M.L.S. teams would be better off spending big money on American players than on foreign stars. “It’s a win-win,” he said, though he added that he would not necessarily be open to returning to M.L.S. anytime soon. “Competition is important to me,” he said. “I feel like I could do four more years in the Premier League.”

The difference, of course, is that Howard has a steady job in England; he does not worry about playing time. Dempsey and Bradley lost that certainty with their clubs.

Suddenly, “playing in Europe” did not necessarily mean playing — and that, more than anything else, is critical in a World Cup year. Prepping for Ronaldo by facing Zusi for 90 minutes is better than prepping for him by playing 15 minutes in the sporadic cup match. Players need repetitions; sitting on the bench, even in Barcelona, does not provide them.

The proof is everywhere. Europe is now littered with American players who took a chance and stumbled, in some cases even going backward on the national team instead of raising their credibility.

Brek Shea, as just one example, was surely better off when he was playing with F.C. Dallas than when he was not playing with Stoke City. Now Shea is on loan at a third-division English club. His stock with the national team has plummeted.

Europe was not the answer for him. It wasn’t for Bradley and Dempsey anymore, either. That is grand news for M.L.S., which is set to open its best season yet. How will it affect the national team in Brazil? Even the sharpest logician would say that the best approach — the only approach now — is to wait and see.